Buyers beware

Report: Imported goods pose danger to consumers

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Shoppers will soon be heading into retail stores en masse for the holiday season, but some of the products they purchase are hazardous to their health, according to a new Consumer Reports study.

From batteries that ooze acid, extension cords that cause fires and highly flammable spray-on hair glitter, American consumers are facing an increasing array of dangerous goods -- and the U.S. government's product-safety system is unable to fully protect them, according to the report in Consumer Report's November issue.

"We're not trying to make consumers paranoid, but we do want them to be aware that the government can't do it all," said Mari McQueen, a senior editor at Consumer Reports and the report's co-author.

After buying products at 12 stores in five states, Consumer Reports found a can of aerosol hair glitter, sold in the children's party section, which shot flames when used near fire. About one-third of the toys posed a choking or other hazard, and a package of "Dinacell" batteries was leaking acid.

Even as the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission --the main agency monitoring consumer products -- has remained stagnant over the past decade, the U.S. is importing a greater number of goods from overseas manufacturers, according to the report.

"More and more products are being made abroad," McQueen said, adding that the United States imports 24 percent of manufactured consumer goods, with China alone making 78 percent of toys, 40 percent of furniture and lamps, and 19 percent of electronics purchased here.

Case in point: Exploding cell phones

Although importers are legally required to conform to U.S. safety standards, those standards are more difficult to enforce when goods are made overseas, McQueen said, citing the recent case of Verizon being forced recall about 50,000 counterfeit cell-phone batteries. The batteries tend to overheat, sometimes causing the phone to explode. See the recall announcement.

Verizon "contracted with a manufacturer to provide those batteries and the manufacturer subcontracted" with another maker, McQueen said. "Somewhere in the chain of distribution, counterfeit batteries got put in legitimate Verizon cell phones. This is the kind of thing that's going on and the enforcement apparatus doesn't seem able to cope with it."

For its part, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says it's managing fine. "The position of our chairman is we have the staff and the budget to carry out our mission, which is to protect consumers and the safety of their products," said Scott Wolfson, a spokesman with the CPSC.

The agency employs 471 people to monitor 15,000 products, but has developed "new initiatives and a new focus to respond appropriately to the fact that the majority of recalls these days are of products made outside of the U.S.," Wolfson said.

Among other things, CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton visits foreign government officials and manufacturers to discuss U.S. safety standards. The CPSC also monitors incoming goods through the U.S. Customs Service database and conducts spot checks at ports nationwide.

But Consumer Reports' McQueen said more staffing is essential. "We're talking about 9 million containers of stuff, everything from toys to lawnmowers" arriving each year. The CPSC has to "essentially do a spot check," she said. "It appears that there's a lot that can get through that kind of a crack."

Consumers elsewhere are worse off

Perhaps even more alarming in the report: Goods that U.S. officials find unfit are sometimes sent to countries with less stringent product-safety laws.

For instance, after about a million Wellmax extension cords were recalled here because undersize wires could cause fires the product was still being exported to Panama, according to the report.

And after 835,000 "balloon-tongue Zapper" toys were recalled in the United State because they posed a choking hazard to children, such toys were still exported to the Dominican Republic.

In 900 instances between 1994 and 2004, products that violated U.S. safety standards were re-exported with the aim that they be shipped to the original manufacturer. But in about 10 percent of those cases, the shipment went to a third country and in other cases it was impossible to confirm where it went, McQueen said.

Inspect before you buy

U.S. shoppers might like to believe the products lining store shelves have been government-tested and approved, but that's not always true. "They have to do their own due diligence and really examine products for potential hazards," McQueen said.

Consumer Reports offers the following shopping tips:

When shopping at a flea market, deep-dollar discounter or 99-cent store, be extra careful, particularly when buying products that often present problems, such as electrical goods, toys for small children and lighters. These stores account for a higher percentage of recalled items than other types of retailers. But, McQueen said, even upscale vendors have sold faulty products.

Avoid products with misspelled and ungrammatical labels, or those with no manufacturer listed.

Determine whether toys have small parts that may present a choking hazard. A good self-test: If the part will fit through a toilet-paper roll, it may be dangerous for young children.

Be careful with extraordinary bargains, where retailers sell a "name-brand" product for, say, one-fourth of its regular price.

When buying electrical goods, look for labels from Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or Intertek ETL Semko. A legitimate UL seal is holographic and usually has a numerical code that identifies the product and manufacturer.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.